EBU publishes new spec for video-over-IP facilities

The EBU has published a specification – EBU Tech 3371 – laying out the minimum requirements needed in a video-over-IP broadcast facility to support SMPTE ST 2110 standard production equipment.

The EBU said it created EBU Tech 3371 to help broadcasters build complete IP-based facilities. When system architects at broadcasters around the world began to receive their first pieces of IP-based production equipment, they quickly noted how complex and labour-intensive it was to build a working production infrastructure from them – certainly compared to SDI technology.

It became clear very quickly that the SMPTE ST 2110 transport standard is a powerful platform, but that more automation is required to allow engineers to build and manage a large-scale facility efficiently.

The EBU Strategic Programme on Production Infrastructures established a working group to formulate concrete requirements, and it has now produced a specification: EBU Tech 3371 on “Minimum User Requirements to Build and Manage an IP-Based Media Facility” details the common stack of standards and technologies required to ensure that ST-2110-based hardware can be integrated into infrastructures as effortlessly as SDI-based equipment.

Beyond the pure Media Transport layer, these minimum user requirements include Time and Synchronisation, Discovery, Connection Management, Configuration, Monitoring, and last but not least, Security. Together, these layers of standards, specifications and recommendations form what is now being termed the “Technology Pyramid for Media Nodes”.

The specified ‘Pyramid’ is the result of trials and real implementations conducted by EBU Members, and forms a contribution to the industry’s drive to further mature IP-based production technology.